1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to golf equipment, specifically a versatile golf green repair tool.
2. Description of Prior Art
Heretofore there have been many different devices used to repair ball marks on golf course greens. These devices consisted of small pocket types to be carried by golfers and heavy, large, and mechanical types designed for golf course maintenance personnel. These have known limited success. Golf course greens receive hundreds of impacts from golf balls each day. Articles in golfing journels and other media attempt to inform and educate the golfers about this growing maintenance problem. Ball marks on golf course greens continues to be a major maintenance problem. A ball mark left unrepaired for one hour takes two weeks to mend.
The small pocket type devices heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) One major disadvantage of the small pocket type device is golfers must bend over, down to the ground to use it. Bending over may sound easy, but it becomes tiresome, strenuous, and time consuming.
(b) Bending over to fix ball marks can also be distracting while someone else is putting.
(c) In addition, golfers just plain forget to fix ball marks. The "Golfers Helper" U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,388 to Doble 1964, Feb. 4, attempted to solve the golfers memory problem by attaching a magnetic ball marker to the small pocket type device. Although this may help somewhat with his own memory, it did not solve the bending problem and did not visually remind other golfers.
(d) Dirt and chemicals from greens are put into golfers pockets when the small pocket type devices are used.
(e) Due to size, small pocket type devices are often lost or misplaced. Then a tee is substituted, which is an inadequate tool for fixing ball marks.
(f) The small pocket type devices do not provide leverage necessary to adequately repair ball marks. The golfer is left using his finger as a fulcrum.
(g) These small pocket type devices when used for advertising do not work because they are unseen in the golfers pocket.
The difficulty of bending over to fix ball marks was recognized long ago. It brought about the development of various heavy, large and mechanical type devices. These include, "Implement for Removing Indentations from Putting Greens", U.S. Pat. No. 2,585,298 to Coelho 1952, Feb. 12, "The Golf Course Divot Replacing Tool", U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,915 to Good 1959, Jan. 20and "Device for Removing Irregularities from a Ground Covering", U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,150 to Kappler 1965, Feb. 2. These various heavy, large, and mechanical type devices heretofore known suffer also from a number of disadvantages:
(h) The mechanical types are extremely complex with numerous moving parts which often break or rust.
(i) The mechanical types are too noisy to use while golfers are putting.
(j) The various heavy, large, and mechanical type devices are too heavy and large to be carried by individual golfers.
(k) These devices are too expensive to manufacture and maintain.
(l) These devices also require a paid golf course attendant to operate them.
(m) These devices can not be permanently stationed on the golf course, since they are affected by moisture, heat, and cold.
(n) These devices do not blend aesthetically with golf courses or golfing equipment.
(o) Since time is of the essence in repairing ball marks, by the time these various heavy, large, and mechanical type devices are brought to the greens by the maintenance staff, it is too late. A ball mark left unrepaired for one hour takes two weeks to mend.